Silversea Cruises Cancels Calls in Sri Lanka Due to Unrest

Silversea Cruises has canceled its February 22 and March 2 calls in Colombo, Sri Lanka, due to recent fighting between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, a separatist group. Although most of the fighting is in the northern part of the island, various media outlets have reported that the government thwarted an attempted air attack on Colombo on Friday, February 20.

The 16,800-ton, 296-passenger Silver Wind has replaced its scheduled Colombo calls with visits to Tuticorin, India. According to company spokesman Brad Ball, the highlight of a visit to Tuticorin is the opportunity to visit Madurai, the oldest inhabited city in India, and its temple.

The next cruise ships scheduled to call on Colombo are Regent Seven Seas Cruises' Seven Seas Voyager on March 23 and Silversea's Silver Whisper on April 26. A Regent Seven Seas spokesperson says the line will make a final decision later this week about whether to cancel the scheduled call, but is developing an alternate itinerary just in case. Silversea tells us it will continue to monitor the situation as well.